shifty louts

Arduin Arcade Session #9: The Howling Tower

Players

Summary

Mordag the 9th of Moon 5202

howlingtowerart

The three adventurers, two having braved President Joe Biden’s mission to “unplug MONARCH and stop Evilberry”, once more delve back into the Howling Tower of Sorven of the Seven Lights with the Centaur Armsman Amshred.

Patxi seems to be slowly losing their grip on reality as the new cybernetic eye implants take their toll on their psyche. Meanwhile, Lerden prepares once more with his growling shield, Jaws, and his magic sword Eaglecry, having wished for the creation of Goodberry. Amshred joins these two famed dungeon delvers, hearing tales of their exploits far and wide.

With their map, the two head northeast, attempting to see the pink ooze fountain room. Gurgling is heard echoing through the various chambers as the group passes through a verdant field of waist-high grasses and mushrooms that Patxi identifies as Moon Shy, blue-capped mushrooms with white crescents upon them. This field of dungeon flora seems to burst from the bodies of the simian, yellow-skinned orcs slain here.

Their map identifies a flaming oil trap in front of a northward passage. Patxi uses their zweihander to pop up the pressure plate, triggering the trap. Flaming oil catches Patxi, who stops, drops, and rolls, extinguishing the flames.

More gurgling ahead, as the group presses northward, encountering a gibbering Fleshmound that pools out of the fountain, seemingly unaware of them. Patxi rolls a cannonball in an attempt to distract it, to no avail. The group surprises the creature, as it screams and squeals like a child.

Patxi loses his handgun, a trophy taken from Bayonetta the Canniphibion, exploding thick chunks of it across the room, which Amshred slips upon attempting to kick the creature. Lerden’s double-sided bladed polearm, Whirling Death, found in their previous delve against the MONARCH-aligned Nazis, silences the screams of the Fleshmound.

The ground yields 300 silver sovereigns within the thing as they explore the room. Patxi’s cybernetic eyes capture strange runes of the Black Tradition inscribed upon the stone of the fountain. Patxi’s eye takes a photograph for future magical research.

Amshred and Lerden find the north door bears yellow and chartreuse bio-organic fibres, like bronchi upon the door. It reacts to touch, curling ever so. Patxi touches the bronchi, finding it feels rough like a cat’s tongue.

The group is able to open the strange door, finding behind it a room that holds wicker baskets of a strange purple fruit hung from the ceiling. Alcoves around the room hold black candles as a 12’ long tiger-maple coffin is surrounded by more growths of Moon Shy mushrooms. The coffin’s face bears the sigil, The Pentagram of Sorven. There is a faint smell of cinnamon and chocolate that hangs in the air.

Amshred, Lerden, and Patxi all agree this is some sort of Vampyre, as they back away close to the door. Patxi takes his athame and pries open the coffin door, finding fragrant soil of cinnamon and chocolate.

The room soon filled with this pleasant smell. The group decides to try the western door, which also bears more Moon Shy mushrooms and strange three-pronged leaves like that of tobacco. Attempts to open the stuck door are met with the smell intensifying, the appearance of centipedes from the mortar joints (quickly turned by Patxi’s Green Magus abilities), and a loud frog-like groaning that suitably freaks out the group as they head back towards the Fleshmound Fountain room.

The group takes the southwestern door, finding it holds destroyed crockery and a pentagram of broken mirrors. In the center, a carrion-crawler molt of prodigious size holds within it the mummified remains of a blonde-haired human warrior still adorned with glass-like plate armor, clutching a battle axe. Lerden prepares a lantern, thinking it will rise as Patxi and Amshred attempt to break down the northern door.

Lerden's careful gaze catches the glass-armored warrior rise to its feet, but it is able to dodge out of the way of his oil lantern with dervish-like grace. A battle ensues as the group is caught flat-footed. The glass-armored mummy’s axe finds purchase in Lerden and Patxi. Black tendrils of necrosis spread from their wounds. The fiend is nearly too fast for them, until Lerden can draw Jaws, the growling, hungry shield, as it clamps down upon the arm of the glass warrior, crunching its arm.

The creature attempts to break free, but cannot from the mouth of Jaws. The glass warrior, in its final act, summons 19 ebon skeletons that emerge from the glass pentagram and begin to assault the group. The Shield Jaws finally consumes the glass warrior as Patxi’s handgonne blasts away three ebon skeletons. 16 remain, but strangely do not pursue the fleeing adventurers, who flee once more from the Howling Tower only 300 silver sovereigns richer.

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amshred

Aftermath

Treasure Found:

Foes Encountered:

Rumors:

Deaths:

XP Awarded:

Notes

#arduin-arcade